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Questions Sales Candidates Ask that Should Stop the Interview

There are certain questions that should raise a red flag when you are interviewing sales candidates. You are hiring a person who will be responsible for driving your business forward.

The sales person you offer the job is representing your brand, your company values and creates your business first impression. This person is accountable for increasing revenues. Know for certain, they will have a bottom-line impact on your business. Positive or negative, the interview process is critical in making the best determination of the outcome.

There are questions and statements sales candidates make that are telltale of their priorities. When you hear them, stop the interview, thank them for their time and move onto finding a better qualified candidate. Your time is valuable and you need to find the best person for the job.

One red flag or alarming question is enough, no matter how many other green flag answers you were given during the interview process. Avoid the energy of imaging “what if” or talking yourself into dismissing what you know was a clear indicator this candidate is not worthy of the job. Don’t compromise! Your business can’t afford a bad hire.

The biggest red flag is not having any questions prepared. Ask everyone you interview, “What questions do you have for me?” If the sales candidate responds that they do not have any questions, stop! Any novice interviewee will have at least one or two questions prepared for any job interview. This response tells you they have no interest in the job you are offering. It also indicates they didn’t do any homework before the interview. Next.

Here are more red flag questions:

1. “What opportunities are there for promotion?” We all love ambitious people. The problem is that you are not hiring for a future promotion. You need a person to do the job you have open right now. This question may be a red flag that your candidate is more focused on telling others what to do, not doing the job themselves. They may feel over-qualified. They absolutely are telling you they are not interested in the current job opening.

2. “How do I get leads?” This is an indicator that the person may not like cold calling. It is hard work. There are some sales people that only perform well with nurtured, warm leads. Your sales hire should be equally good at cold calling, as growing business with existing customers or well qualified leads. No one really wants to take a job “dialing for dollars”; however, you have to hire someone that will do whatever it takes to find customers, including making a lot of cold calls.

3. “What is my salary?” People who ask this question want security. Sales is risky business, for the business owner and the new hire. A green flag question from a qualified, competent sales candidate would be, “What is my quota and commission rate?”. They might even ask you if there are caps on earnings and incentives for exceeding quota — even better. When a person indicates they are hungry to earn more than what you project at 100% of their sales goals, that is a very good sign this person is used to winning. A person that is asking about salary wants to know if they can live on the base pay. Not good.

4. “What are the hours and the vacation policy?” Sales is a do whatever it takes job. If a person is worried about the hours they are working each day and when they get their first paid day off, they aren’t thinking about how much money they will make selling for you. A green flag would be a question about how soon they can get into the office each morning.

5. “Where will I be sitting?” Sales people should be able to perform anywhere they are located. Whether they are in an office, cubicle, table or at home, good sales people will sit where they have access to a phone and computer. This is a person that is not attentive to the most important qualifications needed for this position and they are wasting your time.

6. “What qualifications are you looking for?” This is a red flag that the person did not prepare for the interview. Researching the job and the company should provide indicators of what is important in this job. This is a sign the candidate may be looking for any job, no matter what you have to offer. You need a qualified candidate that fills the job you have open now. This question is also an indication that the sales candidate is not ready to make an assumptive close. The assumption should be that they are qualified for the job and they do not need to be interviewing you for background information.

Making a hiring decision about a sales candidate is difficult. You need to trust this person will take on the responsibility you give them to grow your business. They must be accountable for delivering results. They must be eager to learn and willing to do whatever it takes to win. Most importantly, they need to be able to ask for the close and that means they need to ask you for the job!

Jamie Glass, Outsourced CMO and President of Artful Thinkers, a strategic sales and marketing consulting company and Sales & Marketing Services Managing Director at CKS Advisors.